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Sarasota man sentenced to over 16 years in prison for child porn

Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:
Richard Paul Sundstrom Credit: The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office

A Sarasota County man has been convicted of 15 counts of possession of child pornography.

State Attorney Ed Brodsky announced on Friday that 76-year-old Richard Paul Sundstrom had been convicted of child pornography.

The crimes were investigated by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. 

Sundstrom entered an open plea on Dec. 4 and asked Judge Thomas W. Krug to determine his sentence at a hearing that took place on Wednesday.

He was sentenced to 16.25 years in prison, to be followed by five years of sex offender probation.

According to the state attorney’s office, in February 2020, Sundstrom brought his phone to a “UBREAKIFIX” phone repair store in Sarasota County.

While working on the device, employees found images of nude children and notified the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, which started an investigation.

The investigation revealed multiple images of nude pubescent female children. Sundstrom also used graphic sexual terms when searching for naked young girls.

When Sundstrom came to pick up his phone, he was met with detectives who then interviewed him at SCSO headquarters.

He admitted that he was sexually attracted to girls 14 years old and older and that he viewed the images for sexual gratification.

Richard Sundstrom also told detectives he was a regular attendee of Riverview High School sporting events and was friends with several female high school athletes on social media sites.

He admitted he would save photos from their social media, such as pictures of them in bikinis on the beach.

He even had one picture of a nude adult female labeled as a “doppelganger” for a specific student at the school.

Sundstrom had no children or relatives who attended the school.

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